03x03 - The Hill of Death

[bunniefuu]

So this is what you guys
call the hill of death?

Look out!
-Ginger: watch out!

We're gonna try
to get a road up here.

[Laughing]
seriously?

Get out of my way, trees.

-Go straight!
-How close am I to that edge?

It's real close, man.

You're really pinched.

We're gonna find out
really quick

Whether or not
this plan's gonna work.

Heads up!

Whoa-oa-oa!

How far away
is it to the doctor?

Ginger:
oh, my god.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
marty raney has been building
homesteads for 40 years.

Marty:
I was raised off-grid,

in the toughest place
on earth:

Alaska.

And I've taught my kids
everything I know.

Misty:
a homestead needs to be
nurtured every day.

You get out what you put in.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

Matt:
I have the utmost
respect for wildlife.

Hunting is a privilege
and a necessity.

Narrator:
together, the raneys
save homesteads...

Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait.

...on the edge of disaster.

Marty: we've got
a flash-flood warning.

Misty: holy crap.

Misty, shut 'er down!

[Crying]
I'm really worried

That we're not gonna make it.

-Aah!
-This is crazy!

Look out!

Mis!

My résumé?

I'll show it to you
right now.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

[ Birds chirping ]

Who do I look like?
-[Laughs]

You look like grandma?
-[Muffled] I look like matt!

Oh, yeah?

Who am i?

[ Laughter ]

Are you guys
making fun of me?

Where's the homestead?

Yeah, dad.
Are we lost?

It's gotta be
down this creek.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
the raneys are answering
an sos from the children

Of a desperate
homesteading couple

In the western
cascade mountains.

♪♪

This ancient landscape
is carved from volcanic rock

And covered in vast forests that
once built the pacific northwest

And are now home to elk,
black bear, mountain lion,

And 22,000 thriving homesteads.

But one is struggling
with failing power, no crops,

And cut off from its fertile
land by a dangerous cliff.

Hey. [Whistles]
look, look, look.

There's a roof.

Well, there it is, guys.

But this isn't the right way
to get to that homestead.

Look at this cliff!

Matt: that's
a steep cliff, man.

We can make it.

You fall down this thing,
you're going for a ride.

Like whoa!

This is a little more sketchy
right here, guys.

Let's not get k*lled
on the first day.

Welcome
to the jones stead.

They saw the new homestead
as a fresh start.

I don't want the
homestead to fail

Because it's one
of the main reasons

That my whole family
gets together.

Halee:
so noah and I called in the
raneys to help our parents out.

Hm.

Narrator:
four years ago,

Terry and ginger jones
moved out of the suburbs

When life in california
fell apart.

Ginger:
terry lost his job.

And I sold real estate
and, when the market crashed,

Terry and I ended up
literally losing everything.

Terry:
we needed to start over.

That's exactly what
we did here in oregon.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
when halee left
for college in new york

And noah took a job in hawaii,

Terry and ginger took one
final financial gamble

And sank their last $60,000

Into their dream


With a small cabin
and on-grid electricity.

♪♪

[ Thunder crashes,
rain pours ]

Terry:
there's a storm
coming in tonight.

For us, that means the power's
probably gonna go out.

[ Lightning crashing ]

Our electricity goes out.

We don't know when it's
gonna come back on.

-It could be a week at a time.
-It could be --

Yeah.
It could be 2 days.

It could be a week at a time.
-Yeah.

Narrator:
but, the couple's biggest
survival threat

Isn't the lack of power.

It's lack of food.

The area down here is so small

That we don't have enough space
to grow the food that we need.

The only possible way
is up the hill of death.

So this is literally
how we have to get up

To the top of our property.

We had a friend coming over
here, trying to help us out,

Do things up there, literally
fell down the whole thing,

Broke his leg in three places.

Narrator:
with all the homestead's
farmable land out of reach

On top of a 100-foot cliff,
terry relies on a local job

To pay for essential groceries
and electricity.

There's no money and,

If we can't be self-sufficient
and self-reliant,

We may have to consider
selling the place, I suppose.

I don't know what it
would do to ginger.

I don't want her to have to go
through all that again.

[Crying]
it's all we have.

We desperately need
some help right now.

All of my happiest memories
have been in that house.

My family and I aren't gonna
go down without a fight.

♪♪

Marty:
[whistles] hello!

-Hey. Welcome.
-Cody, quit!

-Welcome. Thanks for coming.
-You must be terry.

I'm terry. This is
my wife, ginger.

-Ginger. Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

Hey, thank you and you
for calling.

Thanks for coming out.

Why did you call us to come
help out your parents?

To help them succeed
in this homestead.

They were supersuccessful
out in california

And then
there was a huge

Economic and
financial crisis

And so they packed up
everything that they had.

I ended up in the hospital
for, oh, about a month and --

Trying to cope with
everything that was going on,

It got the better of me.
-Marty: stress?

-Yes.
-Ginger: yeah.

I knew, if we didn't do
something like this,

I wasn't gonna be
around much longer, so.

[Crying]
I just want them

To be supersuccessful now.

I mean, this is a testament to
how much you love your parents.

But I'm gonna be
looking for workers.

Your son here looks like he eats
hay for a living, you know?

Misty: I think that's
a compliment.

[ Laughter ]

But right now,
everybody's punching in

On the time clock.
Let's go.

Misty: yeah.
-Matt: let's do that.

♪♪

Narrator:
the raneys have 7 days

Before moving on
to their next assignment.

All fixes will come
from money saved

By making terry and ginger
self-sufficient.

And, to reach fertile land,

Misty's scaling the homestead's
treacherous heights.

Okay.

I gotta think about
this one for a sec.

[Chuckling]
hold on.

They have a little cabin pushed
up against this mountain,

So you have to go
up the side of this cliff.

But how do you do that?

I mean, that's opening
a huge can of worms,

A mountain [laughing]
of a can of worms.

When you do come up here,
is that scary?

Does that scare you?
-Yes.

We're gettin' there!

[ Laughter ]

This is all ours.

It's amazing!

Now, I'm out of breath.

-I'm out of breath.
-I know.

So you need to get up here
and clear this land

And that is your only chance
to have a garden and livestock.

Yeah. We've already
lost everything, so.

We don't want to go
through that again.

Yeah. It's like
a make-it-or-break-it.

Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, it is.

♪♪

Anyone that comes to this
property and looks at this cliff

Is gonna want to get
an excavator and start digging

And trying to find a way up it.

But this isn't
your average hill.

This is bedrock right here.
-Yeah.

I mean, the whole side of this
is clearly bedrock.

And bedrock can be
as hard as a diamond.


-Yeah.

I have rolls of fencing
down there

That I bought to run
a fence line here.

I can't get 'em
up here.

What's that cable around
that tree all about?

A long time ago, a logger
mastered that cliff,

Came up here,

Fell these trees,

Brought heavy things
up here.

'Cause they broke the eye
right out of that.

Yeah. How did they
get up here?

The same way we're gonna
get up that hill.

We figure it out.
We don't get up this hill,

We are lesser men than
this guy right here.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
after traveling
thousands of miles

To save their parents,

Halee and noah are worried
there's one oregon local

That's already conquered
the mountain.

We have found
these scratch marks

From a possible predator.

The raking kind of comes from
this direction and up and down.

It's just the right height.

I mean, this is fresh
mountain-lion raking claw marks.

Oh, goodness.

I know that predator is able to
take me down like right away.

An animal that can climb
extremely well.

They attack from above
and, if that mountain lion

Is marking his territory
and being territorial,

Then we might have
a problem on our hands.

This changes my whole
perspective.

In hawaii, the only cougars
we have are the female kind.

[ Laughter ]

[ Growling ]

We've been looking for ya!

-Hey.
-Well,

We've given it some thought

And we're thinking we're
gonna get an excavator

And we're gonna try
to get a road up here.

[Laughing]
seriously?

I'm serious.

Is that even possible?

We're gonna find out.

Narrator:
the raneys literally
have a mountain to climb

To make the jones family
self-sufficient.

Misty plans to clear forest
to cultivate a garden

And build a livestock enclosure.
[ clucking ]

Matt must protect it

[ growling ]
from the mountain lion

Stalking the homestead.

But none of this will happen
without a road

That marty will attempt to cut

Up a 100-foot cliff,
in an excavator.

This is a tremendous gamble

And this mountain is holding
pretty much all the cards.

If you don't want me to do it,
tell me right now,

And I'll come up
with something else.

-Let's get to work. Let's do it.
-Ginger: oh, no. Let's do it.

Marty: you sure?
-Oh, absolutely.

-Let's go, yeah.
-Marty: okay.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]
narrator: coming up...

Marty begins his as*ault
on the hill of death...

Whoo-hah!

...and matt's worst fears
are confirmed.

How many cougars
have been right here?

On my property,
there are at least five.

Five?

[ Growling ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
high in the cascade mountains,
the raneys are answering a call

From the concerned children
of a homesteading couple

Stalked by a mountain lion
and plagued by power cuts,

With no safe way to grow food
or rear livestock.

[Crying]
I just want them

To succeed out here.

I just really want
that for them.

The homestead salvation lies
in 4 acres of fertile land

Cut off by a 100-foot cliff
of solid bedrock.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

We're gonna try
to get a road up here.

[Laughing]
seriously?

I'm serious.
[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Narrator: marty's hired
a 10-ton excavator,


Building a road

That'll make the joneses
self-sufficient.

This is enormous!

What terry and ginger
don't know is I'm facing

The exact same scenario
in alaska on my 40 acres.

But what terry also doesn't know

Is I haven't figured out how
to access the top of my cliff.

Whoo-hah!

Narrator:
marty's mission is
to make a diagonal cut


Avoiding the protruding bedrock.

He'll dig out topsoil
and big rocks,

Compacting them
into a dirt track.

But if he strikes more mountain
just beneath the surface,

The road plan could
quickly hit a dead end.

♪♪

That's pretty hard!
[ Scraping ]

Hear that?

That could be bedrock.

Damn it!

We're gonna find out
really quick

Whether or not
this plan's gonna work.

♪♪

It sounds like
you're hitting bedrock!

I am!
I mean, look.

Right there -- ah!

Right there is hard
as a diamond.

You made it 3.5 feet!

[ Chugging ]

What are you
thinking, dad?

I got two options.

I do a switchback, or I do
a long ramp right now.

-You do a switchback.
-I got material to do both.

You do a switchback.

Narrator:
marty's new plan is
to create an earth ramp

Onto the freshly
exposed bedrock.

Then, cut a switchback
so he can head back up

On his original route.

The tree's gotta go 'cause
the machine can't swing.

So we have to cut that tree
down, you guys.

-Let's do it.
-Yeah, let's do it.

Cut that thing
and let's move it.

♪♪

[ Clatter ]

♪♪

Ginger:
half of this hill is gone.

It literally has taken,
what, an hour?

I mean, it's like boom, boom,
boom; done, done, done.

♪♪

We're literally conquering this
mountain together as a family,

You know, and I don't even care
if that sounds cheesy.

And they initiated it.

You know, it was
because our kids.

It makes me feel like we can do
this homesteading thing.

Stand back.

♪♪

Misty:
so this is the beginning
of the switchback.

It's started to take shape.

He's gonna start
with the first zigzag,

Which is there,
and then cut back that way.

I think this is doable.

I can't really think
of anything else he can do

To get up there safely.

♪♪

It works, man.

It actually
really works.

This is so cool.

Whoo-hoo!

-Yay!
-[Laughing]

Narrator: at the end
of a successful day,

Marty scales the first


But a 100-foot cliff isn't
the homestead's only problem.

And, tonight, the raneys
aren't terry and ginger's

Only visitors.

[ Snarling, barking ]

[ Barking ]

[ Barking ]

[ Birds chirping ]

Narrator:
the next morning,

Terry receives a news flash

On last night's
unwelcome guest.

So a neighbor up the road
saw this cougar.

-Oh, my goodness!
-Yeah.

Oh, man.
That thing's big.

I bet that's a 250-pound cat.

We don't want to have any
run-ins with that thing.

We need to be ready for it.

Narrator:
with the whole
mountain on high alert,

A mile up the creek,

Matt's on the hunt
for more intel.

A mile up the creek, matt
is on the hunt for more intel.

I think we found
the neighbor. Hello!

I'm not lost.

You know terry?

Okay.
I'm with terry.

Okay.

I'm just --

My name is matt raney.

Terry and ginger actually
invited my family out

To help them
on their homestead.

My name is tim.

-Hey, tim?
-All right. Yeah.

-Nice to meet you, tim.
-Yeah.

So you have problems
with cougars.

Yeah. They come out
and my son had a shotgun.

What the hell
are you sh**ting at?

"The cougar, the cougar.
He's got my goose."

-Really?
-Mm-hmm.

How many cougars
have been right here?

On my property,
there are at least five.

Five?

One come running out
from under the trailer,

Was after
my chihuahua dog.

-That's crazy.
-Yeah, son of a b*tch.

[ Laughs ]

You're out in the
wilderness like that,

I'd be packin'.

♪♪

[ Growling ]

Well, guys, the cat literally

Marty: whoa!
-Is out of the bag.

-Wow.
-I got this from your

Neighbor tim.

[ Eerie music plays ]
actually, the fact that

You know tim, I think,
saved me from getting shot.

-[Ginger laughs]
-just look at this thing.

I mean.
-That's a big cougar.

Look at how big that is.
Dad.

I've never seen
anything like this.

When you see it
like this, here,

In your own backyard,
that changes things.

And if we actually get up here
and introduce some livestock,

That thing right there
is gonna k*ll it, fast.

The only thing that's going
to protect livestock

Is an electric fence.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Narrator:
matt wants to fight
the mountain lion threat

With electric fencing,

But, with the homestead's
sketchy on-grid supply

Failing for days at a time,
matt's looking to nature

To provide an off-grid
power solution.

So check this out, guys.

We're building a dam.

You have an awesome
amount of water

Flowing down that creek, that
we can turn into hydropower.

I'm just taking
all this in.

You just said that
this is gonna be

For supplying power
to the house?

Exactly. It is going to get
that bill eradicated.

I'm blown away.
Thank you, guys.

-Yeah.
-Luke: yeah.

Narrator:
matt plans to channel
water from a dam

Down a 200-foot pipe,

Into a $1,500 hydro-unit.

[ Whirring ]

Water spins a turbine,

Powering an electric fence
[ humming ]

And the homestead.

With no more bills, this system
will pay for itself

In just over a year.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

I'm pretty sure the water
level gets about

Higher than me during
the wintertime, so.

So what you're
telling me, noah,

Is that there's
gonna be a flood?

-Oh, here we go.
-No.

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

Narrator:
the first step is building
a dam strong enough

To withstand oregon's
infamous floods.

♪♪

Matt:
I'm drilling in
to the bedrock.

I'm gonna cut some
of this rebar.

I'm gonna make a steel frame.

We're gonna pour
concrete and rocks

And a bunch of gravel
down the center

And then this thing's
gonna be totally,

I mean, floodproof,
bombproof, you name it.

Noah:
I've never worked
with concrete before,

So this is kind of
a first for me, but,

This is my parents' dream,
to be 100% off the grid,

And that's what we're trying
to accomplish here.

Matt:
it's not bad, for a dam
in the middle of nowhere.

I will heed your
flood warnings, noah.

You need to grow
your beard out

A little bit more
than that, though.

I'm just gonna say.
-[Laughs]

Narrator:
the reinforced wall
is in place

And, as creek water pools
behind it,

Matt's dam is taking shape.

Back down the mountain,

Marty's road has hit
its own wall.

This is tougher
than I thought.

He's exposed a 20-foot-wide
slab of bedrock

Protruding along his
planned route.

Now there is nothing
but bedrock

Against the face
of the cliff.

Now I see why they say
it's impossible.

I have to tell the homesteaders

Basically the whole mountain
is nothing but bedrock.

♪♪

Narrator:
the raneys are in oregon...

Stand back!

...trying to save a family
stuck on the grid,

Surrounded by deadly
apex predators.

This is fresh
mountain lion.

[ Growling ]
and on the brink of crisis.

We can't be self-sufficient
and self-reliant,

We may have to consider
selling the place.

But their self-sufficient dream

Relies on marty building
a road up 100 feet

To the only farmable
land on the property.

And, after 2 days
on the cliff face,

A wall of bedrock has kept him
just 10 feet off the ground.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]
I have to tell the homesteaders

Basically the whole mountain
is nothing but bedrock.

♪♪

[ Wings rattling ]

It's making us fight
for every single inch!

You can see that those
hardened steel teeth

That are on the end
of that bucket

Are trying their best
to get through this,

But it's not gonna happen.

Halee: can I say something?
-Of course you can.

I just don't
see it happening.

It doesn't seem doable.

The dream is on top, okay?

Four acres of land,
amazing soils,

It's all right there.
I can see it.

I'm gonna cling to the hope
we might make it.

Let's say we decide
it's not gonna work

And this is as far
as this goes.

What do you think the
alternative would be?

Whew.

I was so focused today
on that hill,

I haven't even thought
for a second

About what I would do
as an alternative plan.

[ Ominous chord strikes,
melancholy tune plays ]

Ginger:
if we can't make this property
take care of itself,

We might lose it.

Hopefully, marty will come up
with a solution.

And...
[ Suspenseful music plays ]

I'll tell you
how I feel about it them.

Halee:
don't want to see
them fail again.

It's a little bit, you know,
a little bit scary.

[ Birds chirping ]

♪♪

Have to get around
this bedrock.

I've taken all their chips
and I've put 'em on black

And we've spun the wheel
right now and it's spinning.

Where is it gonna land?

I'll let ya know.

♪♪

Pretty hard!

Narrator:
marty's only chance is to inch
his way around the bedrock,

Cutting a path along
the edge of the mountain

And fighting through
a sea of boulders

With terry as his eyes and ears.

You got about


♪♪

Marty: look out!
-Ginger: watch out!

Watch out, terry!

Look out!

Did it getcha?!

Man, that was like bowling
for terry right there.

Just a minute ago, that was just
one big solid piece of mountain.

With this big boulder that
just came rolling down here,

That's actually like
a big chunk of hope.

Narrator:
while marty clings
to the cliff,

Misty's mountaintop
garden is on hold,

So she's making
a start on irrigation.

So, we're standing at the
bottom of a ravine

And I'm looking
at the top of that mountain.

How do we get water
from here to there?

How do we get water
from here to there?

With a few pipes, some pvc,
and a few valves,

You can literally,
for $50, build a ram pump.

[ Eerie music plays ]

Narrator:
misty hopes a $50 hack

Will pump water up to the
garden without power.


Water from matt's dam

Races into the ram pump chamber

And compresses the air
inside instantly.

Like a coiled spring releasing,
the air punches back,

Squirting a small amount
of water uphill.

In theory,
all the way to the garden.

The remaining water is released
and the cycle continues.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Okay. So you see
this valve in here?

Ginger: right.
-We want to make sure

That it's open.

And we have to make sure
all these joints

Are watertight, right?

Right.

Get it in there straight.

Okay. We have all
of our fittings all taped up.

Narrator:
misty and halee
hook up the pipes

In from the dam
and out to the garden.

You guys wanna see
if it works?

Yep. Let's do it.

Narrator:
pushing the valve open
should start the cycle.

♪♪

-Waah!
-Ginger: there it goes!

[ Whimsical tune plays ]
[ laughter ]

Misty:
it's working!

That's so awesome.

We need to go to the top
of the mountain.

Hopefully, we still have water.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Ya...hoo!
-[Ginger laughing]

Yay!
-That's it.

I mean, there's water
flowing uphill.

[ Poignant tune plays ]
I think it's incredible.

This is a wonderful contraption
that shouldn't work,

But it works.

This moment is huge, but,
my dad has to get to the top,

Otherwise, livestock,
garden, greenhouse,

All of that,
isn't gonna happen.

♪♪

Terry!

What's happening
with this?

What do you think that is?

That looks
like bedrock.

That is bedrock.

Narrator:
marty's exposed yet
another problem:

More hard bedrock
blocking his way to the top.

It takes a big turn
to the right,

Exposes itself out here.

There's nothing under this
but a mile

Of this solid rock,
harder than concrete.

You can't come up here
with the excavator.

There's no room
for that.

It's a cliff right here.

Uh-huh.

[ Melancholy tune plays ]
the way I see it right now,

The hill of death

Just k*lled your dream of ever
getting to the top of it.

There's no safety net
for us

At all at this point.
If we can't be

Self-sufficient
and self-reliant...

♪♪

...i don't know.

There's nowhere
for us to go.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]
narrator: coming up...

How close am I
to that edge, please?

Marty risks everything
to get to the top.

Told him he's nuts.

Whoa-oa-oa!

♪♪

Narrator:
the raneys are trying to save

An oregon homestead
with no food or livestock.

[ Piercing cry ]

But their only chance
at self-sufficiency

Lies up a 100-foot cliff
that hasn't been conquered

Since oldtime loggers
set foot here...

How did they get
up here?

We figure it out.
If we don't,

We are lesser men
than this guy.

...and marty's plan to carve
a road to the top

Has hit an immovable
outcrop of bedrock.

There's nothing under
this but a mile

Of rock harder
than concrete.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

But he's got one
final card up his sleeve.

We can't go over it.

We're not gonna move it.

So, unless we get really,
really, creative

And take some
incredible risks,

Trying to snake this
machine along that edge.

Where are you gonna go?
I mean,

That's not even
possible.

Um...

Wow.

Maybe I can put a guardrail
in behind that stump

And behind this one back here,
build out on it.

Can we donate a 35-foot doug fir
and lay it behind there?

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator:
marty's last-ditch effort
is to pin a large log


From the edge of the cliff.

He'll then fill in the gap
with earth and boulders,

Creating a section of road
that goes around the bedrock

And up the last


What I'm doing right now is

At the apex of the definition
of risk and danger.

Heads up!

Aaaah! Whoo!

But what are my options,
quit?!

Admit defeat without trying?

That's not the alaskan way.

♪♪

Honestly, I wish
he wouldn't do it, but,

He hasn't really said
anything about a plan b.

So, that just
makes me think

Plan a
is pretty important.

Let's hook this up
right here!

♪♪

See what he's doing?
He thinks he's gonna

Bring that excavator
up here,

Using that as the road.

Ginger:
where nothing was,
to begin with.

I told him he's nuts.

If I could get 40 more feet,
their dreams could come true.

Narrator:
as marty battles the mountain
one last time,

$300 Worth of giant hydropower
piping arrives onsite.

-Yeah. Look behind you.
-Look at that. That's huge.

Look at how big
that thing is.

This is where all
of our water,

Everything's gonna be coming
through this from our dam

all the way down,
right to this homestead

And actually hook in
to our generator system.

Narrator:
but this is no easy install.

The dam lies 200 feet up
through virgin forest.

Spin the wheel!

It's all hands on deck
to get it done.

Go! Give it to me.

Let's go!

The pipe
isn't exactly light.

All right, guys.

If you hear
"ooh...ooh!", Stop!

Ooh-wah!?

No.
Ooh...ooh!

Ooh...ooh!
That's stop!

You got that?
One, two, three.

-Everybody pull!
-Whoa!

Why does it feel like
someone's pulling back?

Ah, okay.

But it actually gets
harder from here

Because the woods
are so thick.

Marty: heave! Pull up!

Ah!

Just the idea that we might be
able to get off-grid, it's huge.

We're just that closer
to the real freedom

That we've been craving.

-Heave!
-Pull!

We're almost there!
Ah.

Marty: we did it!

That was a trek
through the

Oregon jungle.
Oh, man.

-Wow.
-What do you guys think?

I think that looks
incredible.

♪♪

All right.

That's hooked up.
All right.

Tomorrow, we'll be down
by the homestead,

Trying to make sure this
thing gives them power.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Narrator:
with only 2 days to build
a mountaintop farm,

It's d-day for marty's road.

You've heard
of eleventh hour?

This is it.

A 30-foot log now supports
a boulder-and-earth track

Around the bedrock.

Make sure I don't get
too close to the edge!

Okay. I'm watching ya.

Now, it must carry
a 10-ton excavator

All the way up to the forest.

It can slough, it can slide,
and run the excavator

Or tip it off the side
of the mountain.

It's gonna be sketchy,
real sketchy.

Get out of my way, please.

♪♪

Does he have
a seatbelt on?

I don't know.

♪♪

How close am I
to that edge, please?

It's real close, man.

You're really pinched.

♪♪

-Whoa.
-Whoa.

He's just barely
balanced up there.

Go straight!

♪♪

Watch out, terry!

Whoo-hoo!

-Whoo!
-Whah-hoo!

[ Triumphant music plays ]
[ applause ]

Narrator:
marty's excavator has hit
the promised land.

that is something
I never thought we'd do.

Terry:
would you ever have
imagined this,

A road going up here
like that?

You made this happen.
-Aw.

You made this happen.
You and noah made this happen.

[ Misty laughs ]

Yeah, this road really,
it's a gamechanger for us.

Now we can garden up here.
We can grow our own food.

I'm elated.

Ginger:
I didn't think this
could be possible.

This is just astronomical.

I mean, this is like
a dream come true.

We made it. We're here.

But, it's not a home run.

The garden, chickens,
hydropower:

Still a lot of work to do here.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]
narrator: straight ahead...

The raneys have just 24 hours

To build a mountaintop
homestead from scratch.

-Heads up!
-Look out!

-Whoa-oa!
-Narrator: but the hill of death

Is fighting back.

-Uh.
-Ginger: oh, my god.

Narrator:
in oregon's cascade mountains,

Marty's carved a road
up to fertile land

From a sheer cliff face...

Whoo-hoo!

...risking his life
in the process.

Whoa-oa!

Ginger: oh, my god.

Now, the raneys have
just one day

To build a garden,
livestock pad,

And get the joneses off-grid.

Marty:
this is just a scratch.

It's like I tell my crew
in alaska all the time:

venus de milo
was a homesteader

after she lost her arms.

Exactly. Bring it.

Misty: okay.

The bad news is,
we are running out of time.

So, I'm gonna snag some of you
to help with the chicken coop,

Some of you to start the garden
and all the fencing.

You know, we have a road now,
so let's use it.

Narrator:
neighbor tim is first up
with reinforcements.

Yeah, buddy!

Yeah! Whoo!

-All right!
-First trip to the top

In a motorized vehicle.
-[Laughing]

-Dude, I'm impressed.
-Whoo!

Marty: that's a winner
right there.

All right, little darlin's.

Only 20 more loads to go.

Narrator:
misty, halee, and ginger
get to work on the chicken coop.

So we're just gonna slap
some plywood down

And basically it's like
a timber frame with cedar posts

And it's gonna go fast.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Well, you won't
have to worry

About going
to the gym anymore.

Narrator:
while marty and noah start
on a raised-bed garden...

♪♪

...100 feet down below...

Hey, terry!
Yo.

...matt's got the missing
piece to the hydropower puzzle.

Check this out, man.

Boom. I mean,
you have power.

This is crazy.

It looks like a time
machine from the '60s.

Love it.
[Laughing]

Once the $1,500 generator
is hooked up

To the feed from matt's dam,
it'll take the jones' off-grid,

Saving them thousands
in electricity bills.

I like we're kind of like
turning your house

Into an rv now.

Let's go do it.

All right. Going in.

All right.
Same time, up and down.

This is actually
freaking me out.

-Yeah.
-Okay. Here we go.

Off the grid.
[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

-[Laughing]
-but, hey. That's it, man.

We're on jones power.

We're totally
off the grid.

This is coming
from the creek.

-This is great.
-This is coming from the dam.

Self-sufficient,
self-reliant.

That is freedom.

That is true freedom.

I mean,
you guys aren't just

Throwing your money
down the well anymore.

I literally --

There was a point
before we came here

Everyone thought I was
having a heart attack.

So what's the value
on having

A less stressful life?
It means possibly

Actually getting
to have life.

Man, that's golden,
right there.

You can't put a price
on that aspect.

Terry has been holding on
to this threat

[ Poignant tune plays ]
of another financial crisis

And, you know, getting this
homestead off the grid,

They're gonna be protected
and self-sustainable

From now and forevermore.

♪♪

Go!

Narrator:
at the top of the mountain,

Time is running out
to finish the homestead.

Misty: okay.
-Halee: it's been a hard day

So far. Can't be
too proud right now.

Still got a long way to go.

Hard!

All the way.

Jeez louise!

Holy smokes.
Look at this thing.

Misty.
-Yeah!

I got a present
for you.

-Great!
-Let's do it. Let's go!

Narrator:
with the hydropower live,
matt can finally run

The predator-proof
electric fence.

Mountain lions
will come in here,

They'll snag their nose
on the end of it,

And then that'll send them
running for the hills.

This is hydropower,
right...

Now.

Don't touch that line.

You're gonna get zapped.

Narrator:
the chicken coop is ready
for its first guests.

Ginger:
we have chickens!

You have food!

Do not name these chickens.
They're not laying hens.

They're meat chickens.
-Halee: okay.

If this chicken coop
doesn't keep them alive,

I don't know what more
we could've done.

-It's beautiful.
-Yeah.

It is just beautiful.

Narrator:
one week ago, the joneses'
only fertile land

Was 100 feet up a cliff
covered in dense forest.

Now, marty's road has paved
the way to a clifftop garden

And chicken coop built
for under $1,000;

And watered by misty's ram pump,

That runs into a 1,000-gallon
tank traded for firewood.

And a homestead once haunted
by sketchy on-grid power

And mountain lions
[ growling ]

Now boasts matt's concrete dam
and hydropower system,

That not only powers
a predator-proof electric fence,

But also takes the whole
homestead off-grid,

Finally making the joneses
self-sufficient.

There aren't words to express
our gratitude for everything,

The incredible amount of work
your family has invested here.

[ Poignant tune plays ]
for bringing our family

Together again.

Noah and halee, thanks
for making the call.

Noah:
I don't think I've ever
seen my dad and ginger

This happy before.
I mean, just look at it.

This is something that
we accomplished in 7 days.

This is like amazing.

Now I know how difficult
it really can be

To keep up with the joneses.

[ Laughter ]

Misty:
let's go, on that.

Let's get outta here!
-Let's go.

-Double hug.
-Let's go.

Misty: bye.
-Bye!

See ya, guys.

[ Outro plays ]

♪ He had it all,
'til he lost it ♪

♪ Ten tattoos was
the biggest win yet ♪

So we are now walking up what
used to be our hill of death,

The land that we could never
have used before.

This chicken coop,
that hotwire fence

Around there
is doing its job.

We haven't lost a single
one to predators.

This garden here, it's doing
really well, as you can tell.

We've planted tomatoes, squash,
some green onions, peppers.

The water that we're getting
is working incredibly well

From the ram pump that
misty put in.

It's been great.

We're off the grid.

We're having cold beers.

-Cheers.
-Cheers, baby.

♪ This is our road
to happiness ♪

♪ -Sss ♪

♪♪